


Tired

by Fletcher_Of_Mirkwood



Series: A Well-Deserved Vacation [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aang & Zuko (Avatar) Friendship, Aang (Avatar) Needs a Hug, Cute, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Post-Canon, Post-Finale, Post-War, Protective Zuko (Avatar), Sleep, Zuko (Avatar) Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 00:48:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29126757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fletcher_Of_Mirkwood/pseuds/Fletcher_Of_Mirkwood
Summary: Aang is tired.So is Zuko.
Relationships: Aang & Zuko (Avatar)
Series: A Well-Deserved Vacation [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2166051
Comments: 7
Kudos: 74





	Tired

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! I literally finished ATLA last week and I'm already consuming fic like a monster and creating my own lol.
> 
> Comments and kudos appreciated!  
> ~Lily

Zuko woke to the familiar sound of Appa roaring.  
It had been distant and therefore fairly soft, but Zuko had never been a heavy sleeper. He sat up in bed, took a second to rub his eyes and brush his fingers over his scar, and padded over to the door. He slid it open and one of his guards turned to him, only slightly surprised to see him awake.

"Firelord," she said with a bow.

"Has Avatar Aang arrived?" He did not stand on much ceremony with his personal guard, especially at night when there was no one else around.

"The Avatar's skybison was spotted some twenty minutes ago, my lord. It sounds as if they have arrived."

"Thank you, Li. I will meet him at the entrance in a moment." With a nod he closed the door.

Zuko sighed and couldn't ignore the small pang of fear in his chest. Aang had been set to arrive mid afternoon from the Earth Kingdom village he had helped rebuild over the past week. He hoped that whatever had pushed his friend to fly at night was not bad news.

After slipping on shoes and one of his more ordinary overrobes, he exited and followed his two guards to the entrance hall. One of the large doors was open, and through it, Zuko could see Aang happily chatting with the guards as Appa chomped on hay laid out for him.

Aang spotted him too and immediately ran inside. "Zuko!"

"Aang," Zuko replied with equal emotion, though not nearly as loudly. The younger man--no boy--pulled him into a tight hug. He hugged back. "Are you okay? It's the middle of the night."

"Nothing happened," Aang said quickly. Zuko let out a little sigh of relief. "I just--I didn't want to spend another night alone."

Zuko understood. "You're probably pretty tired. Why don't we go to sleep and talk more in the morning?"

Aang scratched his head. "Actually, I napped a bit on Appa. You go to sleep; I'll grab a snack from the kitchens and sit outside for a little while."

"I'm fine. I'll come with you." Zuko says this evenly because it's not up for debate. He orders a few of Aang's favorite foods and leads his friend to one of the palace balconies.

His guards stood inside at a respectable distance. They wouldn't be able to hear their conversation.

"Sorry I woke you," Aang said. They sat next to each other with their legs dangling over the edge. They could see the main road, lit by lanterns, and a ghost of the rest of the city.

"Not a problem," Zuko assured him. "I was only asleep for a few hours--" He realized that that made things worse. Aang cringed but, luckily for Zuko, had his mouth full and couldn't protest. "--what I meant was that, I wasn't in a deep sleep, so I don't mind."

Aang chuckled. "I get it. Thank you." They munched for a few minutes more. The Avatar looked pensive, watching the street lanters dance in the soft, late spring breeze. Zuko waited for him to talk.

"I'm tired, Zuko," he said at last. "I'm an air nomad, I like to travel. I like meeting people and making new friends. That's what I did a hundred years ago. I used to stay places for a few weeks and I always had the temple to go back to. But now, I travel to negotiate, rebuild, settle disputes. I only stay a week, maybe two, and I move on to somewhere else."

Zuko nodded along. He remembered the loneliness of his own travels around the Earth Kingdom when he had left Uncle. Aang was picking up momentum now. 

"And Katara, you, Sokka, Toph, and Suki, you were my home, when we were traveling. Now we're all scattered. It's been eight months of traveling. Four months since I've seen you, Zuko, three months since I've seen Toph, two months since I've seen Katara and Sokka, and I pick Kiyoshi as my rest stop whenever I can. I know I'll see everyone again at the anniversary ball, but I've been lonely." He sighed. "At least Appa and Momo are always with me."

Zuko put an arm around Aang's shoulders. "Hey, I'm here now. Unless I'm not good enough company," he joked with a small smile. 

Aang laughed a little. "You're great company, but I can't stay here forever. People need me out there to help them sort the war out. It's my duty to bring peace."

Zuko squeezed his friend's shoulders. He was too young. They were all too young, but there wasn't anything they could do about it. "I know." 

After a moment, Zuko spoke again. "After the invading the Northern Water Tribe, on the raft, my uncle told me he was surprised I wasn't hunting you down." He made eye contact with Aaang and felt a pang of guilt. No matter how many times he apologized, he always felt guilty. He swallowed and continued. "I said I was tired. And he told me that even great men need rest...why don't we take a vacation?"

Aang's eyes widened in surprise. "What? No, after the meetings this week I'm supposed to help relocating people around the Fire Nation until the anniversary ball."

"I'm the Firelord," the other man stated. "And you're the Avatar. We can push it back a week." This was again, not up for debate. "You guys made time in the middle of preparing for a war to go on minivacations, right?" Aang nodded. "We can make the time now."

"Thanks, Zuko. I--I guess I really do need a break." He rested his head against his friend's shoulder.

"We'll go to the formal dinner, attend a few meetings, and leave in three days."

"Sounds good," Aang replied sleepily. "You pick the place."

Zuko thought of the girl and her mother that had helped his Uncle with his rash on when they had first arrived in the Earth Kingdom. And the family that had fed him and let him stay the night in their barn. 

"Okay. I've got a few wrongs to right. What do you say to spending a week in an Earth Kingdom village? No work," he added.

"Mmm, okay." Aang was almost out. Zuko just held him close until he fell into a deep sleep. Gently, silently, he turned and scooped up his friend in his arms. He remembered doing this with Azula once, a long time ago, when he was maybe seven and she five. She had fallen asleep on their mother's lap one night, and instead of his mother carrying her, Zuko offered. It had been a struggle, not being too large himself, but he managed not to wake her and successfully set her down on her bed. That was one of his fondest memories of Azula. Was that sad?

The guards inside nodded at them and followed their lord to Aang's room. Luckily, it had been prepared earlier in the day, so the bed was made and the room was clean. He set his friend down under the sheets and took a long look. Aang had immediately curled up with a worried look on his face. Zuko was tired too. In a moment, he shed his overrobe and shoes and joined Aang under the covers for a good night's sleep.

When Aang woke in the morning, he was a little surprised. "Zuko?" He asked softly.

"Didn't want you to be lonely."


End file.
